The Sage Dual Boiler is an interesting espresso machine. Although it is clearly recognizable as a Sage machine from the outside, it is actually quite different from its siblings in many respects. The Barista Express, the Barista Touch, and the Sage Bambino are all thermocoil heaters. The Dual Boiler, on the other hand, has, as the name suggests, two boilers for espresso brewing and milk frothing.
With this, the Sage Dual Boiler competes against well-known rivals such as La Marzocco, ECM, or Della Corte. However, the price of the Sage is a real challenge to its competitors. It is available for around €1000. That is significantly cheaper than other dual boiler machines—which made us very curious.
To start with: the Sage Dual Boiler shows that dual boilers don't necessarily have to be expensive to be technically mature and perform well in everyday life. Let's start with our test.
In this article, we have summarized all our findings regarding the Sage Dual Boiler. You can find a very detailed and a summary video on our YouTube channel. Since we enjoyed using the machine, we will continue working with it and share further tips and tricks with you.
In a nutshell - Test Summary
Strengths:
- Temperature stability: Once the machine is heated up, it is really stable.
- Fast heat-up time: It is hot in 8 minutes. Don't forget to flush.
- Extensive control options: Automatic start time, pre-infusion, and much more.
- Dual PID control: For espresso and milk foam.
- Programmable volume buttons: Both flow time and flow volume can be set. The flow volume (volumetrics) is often not included in much more expensive machines.
- Pre-infusion: Both the time of the pre-infusion and the amount of water used for it can be set. An absolute unique selling point of the Sage Dual Boiler.
- Dual water tank filling: Possible both at the front and at the back of the machine.
- No integrated grinder: Yes, that is an advantage as it is easier to upgrade than with many Sage combination units.
- Good milk pitcher included.
- Good filter baskets with 18 – 20 gram capacity also included.
Weaknesses:
- The steam boiler must always be heated, as the heat exchanger principle of the machine would otherwise not work. Even if you only want to drink an espresso.
- Lots of unnecessary accessories.
- For Sage machines, the Dual Boiler has high power consumption. Sage is usually better at that.
- The tamper does not sit flush. This is a pity, as it would be so easy to store in the machine.
- The machine looks bulky, especially in width.
- At around 72 decibels, it is relatively loud. The rattling sound during the brewing process is also not very pleasant to listen to.
Sage Dual Boiler - Classification
As described above, the other Sage machines rely on a so-called thermocoil heater. The water for brewing the espresso, as well as for the steam for frothing milk, is not brought to temperature in a boiler. It flows cold from the tank and is heated to the right temperature in a continuous flow heater. Many of the machines also have an integrated grinder on board. This can be practical, but if the grinder acts up or you want an upgrade, that is hardly possible.
So now a dual boiler machine. The two boilers have a capacity of 0.45 liters (espresso) and 0.95 liters (steam pressure). One disadvantage of this combination is the slower and longer heat-up phase of the machine. Thermocoil heaters are ready for use almost immediately; boilers need to be heated up. This also makes the power consumption slightly higher. The big advantage, however, is that the boilers are much more temperature stable once they are warm.
Now that Sage is daring to enter the dual boiler market, some die-hard espresso machine purists might get a bit breathless. However, we see it as our job to test every machine impartially and as neutrally as possible. Ultimately, our goal is to recommend an affordable and high-quality machine for espresso lovers that will keep you happy for a long time, perhaps even as a beginner.
An affordable Dual Boiler
Normally, you have to budget at least €1800 or more for a dual boiler machine. The Sage Dual Boiler, on the other hand, is offered by Sage for €1150 and for around €1000 on the major online platforms. In Switzerland, it was even temporarily available for under 1000 francs. Nevertheless, we advise you to buy the machine from a specialist dealer if possible. Ideally, from a dealer who measures your machine and can help you with the initial settings.
Size and Exterior
It is 42 cm wide (including the steam knob) and 38 cm high. With espresso cups on the warming plate, we reach a height of 43.5 cm. Speaking of which, a lot of cups fit on top. The Dual Boiler warms the cups pleasantly so that your drink does not cool down as quickly after brewing. The machine is 37 cm deep; the portafilter sticks out a little further, so we measure 44.5 cm including the portafilter. At 16 kilos, it feels very solid and high-quality. The water tank can be filled from above or removed from the back. This is practical and well-solved.
The drip tray holds a maximum of 1 liter, even a little more if you want to risk spilling when emptying. Once the tray is removed, a small wheel becomes visible, which allows the machine to be moved very easily, despite its weight. Well thought out.
Sage Dual Boiler Temperature Curves
Energy consumption
Espresso preparation with the Sage Dual Boiler
Even if the machine shows that it is ready to brew a little earlier, you should give the Dual Boiler 8 minutes. This allowed us to brew good espressos. It is best to do a flush shot after the heat-up time. Then the portafilter is also at operating temperature. If you don't plan your espresso drinking times long in advance, but rather want to brew spontaneously and quickly after turning it on, we advise you to set the machine 1.5 degrees higher via the PID control. This way, you can be sure that a good brewing temperature is reached even after a short heat-up time of the 8 minutes mentioned above. Especially with high-quality, complex, and lighter roasts, you should pay attention to this high brewing temperature. Darker roasts can also handle lower temperatures.
We recommend grinding 18 – 20 grams of espresso powder into the included double filter basket. Grind fresh and espresso-fine, distribute, tamp, and lock it in. We always recommend double shots because the quality of the drink is better and they are easier to dial in.
In our tests, we always aim for a brew ratio of 18 grams of espresso powder to approx. 36 to 45 grams of espresso in the cup. The flow time of the espresso should take about 25 seconds. Here you can, of course, experiment. Some espressos taste even better with longer times. Also, a lot of fine-tuning can be done with the pre-infusion to get a lot out of the espresso in terms of taste.
